Question: Simplify the following expression: $q = \dfrac{t^2 - 10t + 16}{t - 8} $
First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ t^2 - 10t + 16 = (t - 8)(t - 2) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $q = \dfrac{(t - 8)(t - 2)}{t - 8} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(t - 8)$ on condition that $t \neq 8$ Therefore $q = t - 2; t \neq 8$